Air Monitoring
SPACE SCIENCE USED TO ADDRESS GLOBAL AIR POLLUTION CHALLENGES
Space science isn’t just about travelling beyond our atmosphere, or exploring deep space. The technological advances that have come from space programmes, satellite development and astrophysics have day to day benefi ts back here on Earth. MRI scanners, miniaturised computers, even Velcro all come from the realms of space science. So what other benefi ts could be gained from working with scientists, researchers and engineers in these areas? The UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) has an exciting array of capabilities ranging from large analytical facilities to miniaturised sensors, with a huge amount of data storage, analysis and modelling capacity along the way. The STFC Air Quality Network (SAQN) is exploring how these capabilities might be used to address the global challenge of air pollution, a problem that causes 4.2 million deaths per year1
. What does SAQN do?
Our overarching aim is to bring together research, industry and policy to address air quality challenges, improving measurement technologies, maximising use of data, optimising models and exploring chemical reactions. We need industry and policy to help defi ne exactly what the challenges are, and research to fi nd the solutions. SAQN can connect industry with researchers from across STFC and the wider air quality community, exploring opportunities to apply their skills and expertise to address the challenges you face around air pollution. Our key aims are to:
• Engage with industry and policy • Initiate lasting collaborations • Increase awareness of STFC capabilities Our activities to achieve this include: • Network website
• Monthly newsletters, including our activity and wider news from the community
• Targeted meetings on relevant topics • Funding research into new ways of using STFC capabilities • Travel funds for meetings and events with STFC scientists • Matchmaking between community members
Computation Fluid Dynamics are used to plot carbon dioxide distribution in a room © STFC How can you get involved?
SAQN is keen to engage with industry, both to inform the activity of the network and to support the potential commercialisation of some of the technologies being developed. You are warmly invited to get involved in one of the following ways:
• Join the network: sign up for free on the SAQN website and receive a monthly newsletter with all the latest information
• Attend an online networking session: held regularly online, these informal sessions offer the chance to connect with STFC scientists and air quality researchers, and members can give a 60 second pitch about their area of interest to spark conversations
IET MARCH / APRIL 2022
• Come to the SAQN Annual Meeting: held in York 18-19 May 2022, the annual meeting will feature a session on industry challenges.
• Apply for a Travel Grant: SAQN can fund travel and accommodation for network members to visit STFC facilities and explore collaboration opportunities
• Explore the SAQN website: this includes details of the Scoping Studies funded so far, as well as more information about STFC. If you have specifi c ideas you think STFC could help with, contact SAQN directly for matchmaking.
What can the STFC do?
STFC has a dazzling array of capabilities in different areas. Their core purpose is to carry out frontier research in particle and nuclear physics, space science and High Performance Computing. STFC have laboratories and sites across the country, from the famous Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, to the bottom of a deep mine in North Yorkshire, where scientists search for dark matter. Their Science and Innovation Campus fosters collaborations between industry and academia, with co-location of industry with research centres. Businesses are supported to reach their full potential through Innovation Clusters, where startups,
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